What is a test tone CD?

gsrai

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Aug 18, 2005
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As per the title peeps - I need to recalibrate my Benchmark DAC 1 and have been advised to use a test tone CD.

Problem is I dont have one, dont know what one is and am a tight git!

Can anyone loan me one and tell me how to use it please
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Nawty

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Download Audacity or NCH tone gen and you can make all the tones you want.

Of course, it's not what tones you have but how you use them that counts.

 

felix

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It's easy to burn your own with CoolEdit or any similar sound editor. Generally you're using the fact that you have a constant tone or a constant,known level to test in some way (e.g. balance side-to-side or to set attenuation) A series of (bass) tones at constant levels can also help you investigate room acoustics - educational if not necessarily fun!

I've made my own CD of such things before - drop me a PM with address if you'd like a copy gratis.

 

Arfa

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Or if your using Linux or similar, use the 'speaker-test' command line tool:-

$ speaker-test -t 2 -f 1000

Where the 1000 equates to a sin wav at 1Khz.

Use '-t 1' instead of '-t 2', to get pink noise.

 

White Pheasant

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I downloaded theNCH test tone generatoryesterday and, using my trusty SPL meter, took frequency outputreadings from the AE520 floorstanders. I got a bit of a shockto find just how up and down the readings were - far from 'ruler flat'!
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Obviously thelistening room's acoustics alsohas a big influence on the resultingfiguresso it'simpossible really to say how much is purely down to the speakers themselves.

I simplyused the generator's '+' and '-' buttons to go up and down the frequency range- starting at 20 Hz and going up to around 20kHz (about 120 different frequencies in all). You can use the plus and minus buttons on your keyboard,as you'll have a pen in your hand as well to note down the SPL readings at each frequency.

I'd recommend having a gofor anyone withansparecouple of hours to waste. And I dare anyone to post their findings on the forum!
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JANDL100

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White Pheasant wrote:

I'd recommend having a gofor anyone withansparecouple of hours to waste. And I dare anyone to post their findings on the forum!
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:)I did exactly that on my Behringer room correction thread.

I'll lay a sizable bet that no-one's system is flat in-room. Mine was awful - 15dB bass peak and ups and downs all over the place.
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I use the Behringer DEQ2496 to sort it out - it's now flat 20-20,000 Hz.

See my March 30th 2007 postings on this thread HERE- before & after photos of my in-room freq response.

Not a small difference to the sound quality either!

 
S

Sranang_Boi

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JANDL100 wrote:

I use the Behringer DEQ2496 to sort it out - it's now flat 20-20,000 Hz.

Not a small difference to the sound quality either!
You use an EQ in your signal path??? I have one connected to the REC out on my pre-amp but that's just to see the frequency spectrum. I wouldn't dare sticking it in the signal path to my power amp. An EQ does some serious harm to the signal phase, which tangles up the 3D separation. It also murders that after glow (decay time) on the trailing edge of the signal.IMO trying to achieve a flat response for acoustics is a waste of time. The frequency response recorded on a track is the one captured based on the taste of mr. Producer. They sit behind their mixing desk and play about with the RQ controls till they perhaps find a setting that suits all or certain parts of the track. The older producers also tend to suffer from a hairing drop off. So what is captured on the disc might not be the room or studio acoustics, but merely an attempt to give the impression of one.

 

White Pheasant

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JANDL100 wrote:

:)I did exactly that on my Behringer room correction thread.
Have you re-done the NCH tone sequence thingsince installing the Behringer? It would be interesting to see if the newsound graphdoes read completely flat.

 

JANDL100

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Sranang_Boi wrote:

JANDL100 wrote:
I use the Behringer DEQ2496 to sort it out - it's now flat 20-20,000 Hz.

Not a small difference to the sound quality either!
You use an EQ in your signal path???
Bloody right I do, Stanley.
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Whatever "wrongs" it does, the "rights" more than make up for it BIG time.
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Simply no contest that it gives a massively improved sound.

.... and this stuff about decay time trailing edges is simply a load of bollox (in my humble opinion) - either the S/N ratio is good enough to play the quiet bits, or it isn't! Trailing edge decay is as much a part of the recording as the original musical sound. If you want the music to resonate on after the real sound from the recording has stopped that's fine - but not for me, thanks
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:force:

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Jim

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Yes have to agree the Behringer improves the sound for the better. Jandl100 and i use it mainly to reduce huge bass humps. The mid range detail and funnily enough improved bass is incredible.

 

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